Cost of gas hobbling area’s poor

There aren’t any hybrids parked outside the Franklin County South Opportunity Center.

The welfare office lot on S. High Street is full of the aging and the midsized, and not many have fuel gauges pointed to F.

Eleven years ago, any kind of car — even an old gas-guzzler — was likely to be seen as a welcome companion on the journey toward independence and employment as mandated by the 1996 welfare-reform act.


Now, the family friend is part foe.

“Doubling the amount of money you spend on gas changes everything,” said Laura Holton of the Fairfield County Department of Job and Family Services.

Columbus Dispatch